A Queen-Inspired Monopoly Game Is on Its Way

BY Kirstin Fawcett

March 21, 2017

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A classic band has given an equally classic board game a rock 'n' roll-inspired makeover, Entertainment Weekly reports. Queen—the British rockers who skyrocketed to stardom with hits like 1977’s "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions"—will release their own personalized version of Monopoly in May.

Brian May, the group’s lead guitarist, announced the news on his website earlier this week. "We’ve been very secretly developing Queen Monopoly for over a year," May wrote. "And it’s due in a shop near you in May. I’m excited—it was a blast working on it—like making an album! We hope you love it!"

The game comes complete with a Monopoly-inspired board, stacks of paper money, and tiny silver tokens. (A miniature bicycle references 1978’s "Bicycle Race," a hammer pays homage to 1984’s "Hammer to Fall" and so on.) But instead of trying to strike it rich and bankrupt opponents, players relive key moments in the band’s musical history while attempting to purchase "gig locations and hit singles" and avoid "taxes, jail, and bankruptcy."

"Tour the amazing gig history of Queen, from their very first at Imperial College in 1970 to their last with Freddie Mercury at Knebworth Park in 1986. Tour the world with the band and buy gig locations and hit singles," reads the game description, according toRolling Stone.

Monopolyis no stranger to makeovers, but if you’d rather attend a rock 'n' roll concert than build a hotel on Park Place, this may be the version for you. Check out a picture of Queen's new game below.

The board spaces on the original Monopoly game—which was released on February 6, 1935—were based on locations in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Through the game, the hoity-toitiest spots for property development in there, Boardwalk and Park Place, came to symbolize the uppermost reaches of real estate value.

Since Parker Brothers (and later, Hasbro) began licensing the game for alternate versions, there have been hundreds of Monopoly offshoots, and they all have to pick something to serve as their own Boardwalk and Park Place. If it’s a city, they will usually correspond to the fanciest intersection. If it’s a country, they’ll be the two most powerful cities. But Monopoly special editions cover a whole range of areas beyond simple geography. You want to know what’s considered valuable in a particular area of interest? Look to the Boardwalk and Park Place of its Monopoly edition. Here are the most valuable spaces from 11 special edition Monopoly boards.

1. THE .COM EDITION

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In 2000, just before the end of the dot-com boom, Hasbro published .com Monopoly. Boardwalk was Yahoo! (costing $400 million) and Park Place was Excite@home (costing $350 million). Anyone remember what that was? (Didn't think so.)

2. THE PHINEAS AND FERB EDITION

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Naturally, the most valuable properties are Phineas and Ferb’s backyard and The Tri-State Area.

3. ELVIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

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Of course Graceland is going to be Boardwalk, but what about the number two spot? Viva Las Vegas, baby.

4. NATIONAL PARKS EDITION

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How do you determine the value of a National Park? Yellowstone and Yosemite are the Boardwalk and Park Place of this version of the game. Sure, those are great parks, but there’s something unsettling about developing properties in some of the country's most famous stretches of unspoiled land, and raking in profits!

5. BASS FISHING EDITION

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If you know bass fishing, you know it’s gotta be Lake Fork and Lake Champlain.

6. SEINFELD EDITION

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A show about nothing still needs to take place somewhere. Jerry’s Apartment and Monk’s Restaurant are the center of this world.

7. MY LITTLE PONY EDITION

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Friendship is magic, but it won’t pay the rent. Stake your claim early on Canterlot and Crystal Empire.

8. SOUTH PARK EDITION

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Cartmanland and Imaginationland, where else?

9. A CHRISTMAS STORY EDITION

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The properties in this version are important objects from the movie, like a frozen flagpole, a bar of soap, and a pink bunny suit. But in this world, BB Gun and Leg Lamp get top position.

10. KISS-OPOLY

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What is true value? A KISS Platinum Gold Box Set and a Japanese Vinyl Box Set.

11. MONOPOLY HERE & NOW: THE WORLD EDITION

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If you’re going to make a World Edition of Monopoly, you’ve got to be diplomatic about how you decide what the two most valuable places in the world should be. Hasbro decided to let the world decide for itself, holding an international vote in 2008 to determine which cities would be included on the board. That’s how it came about that Montreal, Canada, and Riga, Latvia—the two cities with the most votes—became the Boardwalk and Park Place of the world.

Anyone who has played Hasbro’s Monopoly knows that it's easy to be victimized by unscrupulous players. People can and will swipe money from the bank, move forward or behind one space to land on a more favorable square, or outright lie about the rules to someone unfamiliar with the game.

Previously, such actions might make you reconsider your friendships. Now, you may have to go to the same extremes just to stay competitive. According to Insider, Hasbro's newest version of the game, Monopoly: Cheaters Edition, actually rewards unethical behavior.

The Cheaters Edition game board will look similar to classic Monopoly, with one significant change: Five “cheat cards” will be in play during each game. These cards are designed to encourage players to undermine each other through deceptive tricks like quietly adding hotels without paying, stealing currency, and collecting rent on another person’s property.

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And there’s one other significant change: This version of the game doesn't have a designated banker, making the redistribution of your illicit funds that much easier.

If you succeed at pulling off a cheat unnoticed, you'll be rewarded with extra cash or property. But there are consequences if you get caught—including being forced to wear a plastic handcuff affixed to the game board.

According to Jonathan Berkowitz, senior vice president of marketing at Hasbro, the new edition was inspired by surveys of players who admitted to dishonest game strategies.

"A recent study conducted by Hasbro revealed that nearly half of game players attempt to cheat during Monopoly games,” Berkowitz told Insider. “So in 2018, we decided it was time to give fans what they've been craving all along—a Monopoly game that actually encourages cheating.”

Monopoly: Cheaters Edition is due out this fall and will retail for $19.99.